


Devil in the Details

by Beautiful_Doom



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angels, Angst, Comfort, Demon AU, Demons, Fallen Angels, Hurt, M/M, Religious Imagery, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Unsympathetic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, neutral beings, nothing too bad though, religious talk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25705345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beautiful_Doom/pseuds/Beautiful_Doom
Summary: After being rescued from a deal with a demon, Thomas is introduced to a world that's been around for thousands of years. Within it is the ever present battle between angels and demons, but there are other beings hanging out on Earth as well. Roman, a prince of Hell, has been causing trouble for everyone, and high ranking angel Patton is seeking to capture him. Thomas finds himself in the company of fallen angels, record keepers, guardian angels, and other demons.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	1. The Deal

“So you’re saying that if I sign this... you’ll make me famous?” Thomas asked.

“Famous?” said the other, “I’ll give you fame, fortune, and all the handsome men you could want. Imagine! All your greatest dreams coming true one by one...”

This man claimed to be a demon. He wore a lot of red, had fangs, and spoke with the air of a showman. Thomas had been hesitant to believe him, but the demon had proved his power. Of course, Thomas knew now to sign anything, years of church warning him of demons and their tricks.

But this demon, Roman he said his name was, was offering a deal that sounded really good.

He would make Thomas a famous actor, put him on the stages of Broadway or in front of movie cameras, working with top actors and directors, give him millions of subscribers on YouTube, whatever he wanted. And with that would come heaps and heaps of money and lines of handsome men out the door.

It all sounded so good.

“Think about it,” Roman purred into Thomas’s ear. “You only live once. One life and then you’re dead and gone. You owe it to yourself to have the best life you can. To use the gifts and talents you were given. You wouldn’t squander such things, would you? The disrespect!”

“Yeah, but...” Thomas looked over the contract. “You’d get my soul when I die...”

“Yes, but only after you die,” said Roman. “You’re a young man, you have plenty of years until that happens. And wouldn’t it be worth it? I’d give you such a wonderful Heaven during life that you wouldn’t even miss it in death. And really, it’s not so bad. It would all... be worth it...”

He summoned a black feathered quill, holding it out to Thomas with a grin.

“Just sign,” he said. “And it’ll all be yours! Fame, fortune, love, everything you could ever want...”

Deep down, Thomas knew this was a bad idea, but Roman made it sound so good. Whether Thomas was that desperate, or Roman was working some kind of magic, no one could say. Thomas reached out to take the quill.

And then something suddenly struck Roman in the head.

“Aggh!” Roman jerked to the side, dropping the quill to the ground. 

He and Thomas were at a picnic table in the park, and in the light of the setting sun, Thomas could see someone striding towards them. Whoever it was bent down to pick up another heavy rock and threw it at Roman.

“Leave him alone!” They cried, ducking to pick up another rock. “You bastard!”

Roman dodged another rock and hissed. Actually hissed.

“Snake,” he growled. “How dare you attack me! Attack a prince of Hell!”

“You’ve been a thorn in my side and a pain in my ass,” the figure was close enough that Thomas could see him. Half of his face was covered in what looked to be scales, and he had a bright golden eye on that side. Oh, and he had fangs too. “If my hurting you comes from saving this poor soul from your black webs, then that’s just the icing on the cake. Now away with you! Patton will know you’re here...”

Roman hissed again, looking enraged. The contract and quill vanished along with him, disappearing into thin air. Thomas looked at the man who had walked up, wondering how he’d gotten into this position in the first place. Roman had found him in a club that Thomas had gone to once his desperate need for human contact had reached an all-time high. Roman had invited Thomas for a walk and then... well, Thomas didn’t really remember much, it was all hazy. Had Roman been using a spell on him?

“Are you ok?” the man asked, carefully looking Thomas over. “You didn’t sign anything, did you?”

“Um... no,” Thomas said softly. “I didn’t.”

The man sighed in relief. 

“Good,” he said. “If you had, you would quickly wish you hadn’t. My name is Janus. Normally I wouldn’t stick around like this, but I have a feeling that Roman is going to try again just to spite me. Best to keep you safe.”

Thomas blinked, pressing his fingers to his temples. He should be freaking out right now, but an eerie calm had taken over him. What was going on?! Who were these people?!

“I... I don’t know what’s going on,” Thomas said. “I feel... I feel weird.”

“Roman’s magic,” Janus sat at the picnic table. “It will fade later. You should be back to your normal self in the morning. Count yourself lucky, Roman will more than likely forget about you after a few more failed attempts. He's yet to give up on me. Constantly flirting and trying to make me fall for his charms...” he shuddered in disgust.

“He said he was a demon,” Thomas collapsed onto the picnic table bench next to Janus. “A prince of Hell? H-He promised me all the things I’ve ever wanted.”

“And they would have come at a price,” said Janus. “Demon deals are bad enough, but Roman’s deals are the worst. He has no honor, he does not obey the rules of Hell. Any deal made with him is worthless...”

Thomas chuckled, and then it became a laugh. He slowly leaned sideways until he was lying on the picnic bench. Oh, this was a night! Demons, deals, getting kidnapped by a hot guy in red, being enchanted so that he felt all mellow and drugged, seeing a demon show off his demonic powers and nearly signing his soul away.

Roman had really made the deal sound good...

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Janus raised an eyebrow as Thomas started to laugh louder. “You’re acting strange, and I don’t think it was Roman’s magic.

“This is a dream,” Thomas chuckled. “I fell asleep in that club and this is a dream. Or I never went at all! Or I’m drunk or drugged and this is all a big hallucination...”

“You’re starting to worry me,” Janus tugged Thomas back into a sitting position and looked closely at his eyes. “Perhaps you’re having a bad reaction to Roman’s spell...”

“I’ve lost my mind,” Thomas giggled. “I’m going to wake up in my bed and I’ll never eat pizza after midnight again...”

“Ok, you need to sleep this off,” Janus passed his hand over Thomas’s face and Thomas quickly fell asleep, going limp in Janus’s hold. 

“Humans,” Janus sighed and shook his head. “This is why I do not envy the guardian angels...”


	2. It Wasn't a Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas meets Janus... again.

When Thomas woke up the next morning, he groaned and pulled a pillow over his head.

He must have blacked out last night. But then how did he get home from the club? Maybe he’d called someone. Maybe a good Samaritan had brought him home and helped him in. Then again, he didn’t feel hungover...

And that weird dream he’d had. A demon in red, a snake faced man... he’d almost signed his soul away. He would have, had the man not interrupted. Strange, he didn’t usually have dreams that weird or that vivid.

Thomas got out of bed and shuffled out of his room. He heard a noise downstairs and froze. Was someone there? Had the good Samaritan stayed the night?

Thomas slowly made his way down the stairs and peeked over the banister. Someone was in his kitchen... cooking? He could smell eggs and veggies and bacon. Turkey, not pork. Turkey bacon was ok... Whoever it was didn’t seem to be a threat, so Thomas walked down to join them.

But then the stranger turned to face him and Thomas saw those scales again.

“You’re awake,” said the stranger. “And just in time, I’m almost done. I hope you don’t mind I already ate, I didn’t know how late you usually sleep in. I also took the liberty of getting you some groceries. If I recall correctly, humans are not meant to survive on sugar and junk food alone.”

He then plopped an omelet on a plate with some bacon and set it down on the table.

“Please enjoy.”

Thomas blinked, watching the other in confusion. This was the man from his dream. But if he was here, then... could that mean...?

Thomas sat down, suddenly feeling scared. He had really almost sold his soul to a demon last night. That actually happened. How close had he been to eternal damnation before this man saved him?

“Thomas, you need to eat,” the stranger pushed the plate closer. “Don’t humans need three meals a day?”

Not knowing what else to do or say, Thomas picked up his fork and started eating. Oh, there was spinach in this. Thomas wasn’t too big on spinach...

“It is unfortunate that you do not have a second bedroom,” the stranger said, moving the dirty pan to the sink. “But that couch in the living room was rather comfortable. It will serve as a good place to sleep while I’m here.”

“Wait, why would you be here?” Thomas paused his eating. “I don’t even know who you are! Why would you be staying here?”

“Because Roman knows you would have taken his deal if I had not interfered,” the stranger fixed Thomas with a look. “I can guarantee that he will be back to try again, and I would like to be here when that happens so that I can ensure that you will not sign the contract.”

“Roman...” Thomas thought about what he’d assumed was a dream. “That was... the guy in red and black, right? That means you’re... Janus?”

“Glad to see you remember,” said Janus. “And yes, that was him. He’s not just a guy, he’s a prince of Hell. Very powerful and very dangerous.”

Thomas pushed the plate away, suddenly not feeling very hungry. But then Janus was pushing it back with a glare.

“Eat. Your. Food.” He hissed. 

Thomas’s stomach rolled with new hunger, and he started eating again. He was quiet until he finished, Janus patiently watching him to make sure he really did eat the whole thing. Honestly, what was it with humans not taking care of themselves with decent food? Everyone seemed too happy to eat junk that would do them no good...

“H...How long will you need to stay?” Thomas finally asked as Janus took his empty plate. “I... I still don’t understand what’s going on. This is all... way too weird. Demons and-and deals, and... whatever you are.”

“I’m a former angel,” Janus said as he put the plate in the sink.

“Right,” Thomas laughed. “What else would you be? You know, I was always told in church that demons and angels are around us, but somehow I never thought I would ever meet one.”

“People never do,” said Janus. “It’s why Roman and other demons are able to make so many deals. You humans are woefully unprepared for meeting anything supernatural. You treat it all as jokes, or even worse you think you can best them at their own games. You think you’ve met the one demon you can trust. But you cannot trust... well, there are a few you might could trust. But not many.”

“What do you mean?” Thomas asked.

“Most demons are from Hell,” Janus explained. He opened Thomas’s fridge to get something to drink. Thomas could see his fridge was crammed full of fresh meats and fruits and veggies that were all marked as organic. Wow, Janus must have spent a pretty penny on his shopping trip.

“But some demons have renounced Hell as their home and live on Earth,” Janus continued. “They’re a more... neutral party. They just keep to themselves and work out trades and deals that don’t involve souls. Since they don’t cause much trouble, they’re pretty much left alone. I know a few myself. And then there are others that are neither demon nor angel. I know a few of those as well.”

“You just seem to be Mr. Popular,” Thomas chuckled nervously. “I’m still not sure if this is really happening or not.”

“Best to not think about it,” Janus grinned. “Most of you humans tend to do that. I’ve seen the videos on the internet.”

“Fair enough,” Thomas shrugged. “So you think Roman is going to come back?” 

“I know he is,” said Janus. “He’d much rather try again with you since he knows you want what he has to offer. Otherwise he’ll have to go find another victim.”

“What’s... what’s so bad about his deals?” Thomas found himself asking. “I mean... you said his deals were the worst. Like, you mean they’re worse than others’?”

Janus sighed. 

“Allow me to explain since I think this will help you say decline his next offer,” he said. “There are rules that demons must follow. Why? Because it’s a means to control them, and that’s what all the bosses want. Control. The rules of demons are very few and easy to follow, but the most important one is that if you sign a deal with a human, whatever you promised them is theirs until the day they die. Now of course, demons word it that way because there’s never a guarantee how long you will live afterward. The longer a soul steeps in sin, the better it is when collected. Some demons will play the long game and let a human die of natural causes. Others are too impatient and will arrange for the human to die sooner. But, for Roman... he does not follow this rule. What he’ll do is give his victim whatever they want. He’ll let them enjoy it for some time and then he’ll take it away. A victim wanted fame? Roman will cause a scandal for them to lose it and become the most hated person in the world. A victim wants a loving husband? Well, that husband will be loving until they come home to find him bedding someone else. A victim wants money? Oh dear, the FBI is knocking on their door to investigate their now illegal funds. But that’s how Roman plays it. And you’ve seen it happen. I’m sure you’ve heard of that famous ballet dancer that was recently in an accident?”

“Ballet dancer?” Thomas thought for a moment. “Oh yeah! She was in a car accident and they had to... amputate... both her legs...” Thomas’s eyes widened. “No way. Are you saying?”

“She was one of them,” said Janus. “She gave her soul to become a famous dancer. And now she will never dance again. It’s not uncommon for Roman’s deals to end in suicide. Once he’s taken everything his victim has, they will end it all themselves. But in doing so, they find themselves helpless and in his grasp once again. Doomed to be his slave until the end of time.”

Thomas swallowed heavily. He'd been about to sign that contract last night. What would have happened if Janus hadn’t interfered? What would have happened after Thomas had signed it? Would he have been given all that he’d ever dreamed of only to lose it later? 

“Roman has made himself many enemies,” said Janus. “Because he refuses to follow the rules. His arrogance and greed and lust know no bounds. Patton has been trying to catch him, but Roman is tricky. He’s been able to evade Patton all these years-”

Janus paused and was silent for a moment. He slowly turned to look at Thomas with a calculating gaze.

“Oh...” he said slowly. “but if he’s going to be around here... I think there might be a way you can help us, Thomas. If you would be willing to.”

Thomas felt a dread chill of fear. That didn’t sound good...


End file.
